Microsoft sparked developer criticism when it revealed that access to the “near-final” version of its Windows Phone 8 SDK will be “limited”, meaning that many developers will be unable to ready apps for the platform ahead of device release.

In a blog post, Microsoft’s Todd Brix said: “The full Windows Phone 8 SDK will be made publicly available later this year when we unveil Windows Phone 8.” He said the current plan “offers more published developers a way to explore the SDK”.

So far, Microsoft has not revealed the criteria it will use to decide access to the tools, although further details are anticipated to come next week.

Brix said that “select partners and developers” have already seen early builds of the SDK, helping to test the toolset and get started on WP8 apps.